Ex-nurse’s murder trial begins

[unhappycamper]

Capt. Michael Fontana


Ex-nurse’s murder trial begins
By Paul J. Weber - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 16, 2009 20:34:03 EST

SAN ANTONIO — Attorneys for a former Air Force nurse charged with killing three elderly patients by giving them lethal doses of medication say it would be negligent to undertreat pain for the terminally sick in their final days.

Capt. Michael Fontana faces three counts of murder when his military court martial begins Monday at Lackland Air Force Base. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Fontana is accused of knowingly giving deadly amounts of painkillers to three civilian patients placed on do-not-resuscitate orders last year at Wilford Hall Medical Center, the Air Force's largest hospital.

His attorneys say Fontana was a competent and caring nurse who comforted the ailing.

"It is recognized in end of life care that death is expected with this patient population and may coincide with medication administration simply due to the type and amount of medication that may be required to alleviate pain and anxiety for a particular patient," attorney Elizabeth Higginbotham wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_af_nurse_trial_111609/